The 2005 cruise lasted one week and explored
two very important areas tied with naval disasters for the Persian
fleets. The first area was the coast of southern Euboia, identified
as the “Hollows of Euboia.” Here the Greek historian Herodotus
claims that some 200 Persian ships were lost in a storm while trying
to circumnavigate the island. The second area of investigation focused
on the Artemision Channel, the site of a famous Greek naval victory
over King Xerxes’ Persian fleet in 480 BC fought at the same
time as the even more renowned Greek stand at Thermopylae.

The research was conducted on the R/V Aegaeo of the Hellenic Centre
for Marine Research (HCMR) using its Thetis submersible and remote
operated vehicles (ROVs) Super Achilles and Max Rover. These vehicles
investigated targets identified by the sidescan sonar survey. For
the first time in this project an acoustic profiler was used to determine
sedimentation deposition.

The team collected sidescan sonar targets and acoustic profile data
around Cavo Doro (Cape Kafireas) to the area of Cape Letra. Potentially
important targets were visually examined using the Thetis and the
Max Rover. The same exploration protocol was followed in the Artemision
Channel, where the survey also employed the SuperAchilles.

In the course of the survey 30 square kilometers of sea floor were
examined for the first time with sidescan sonar supplemented by acoustic
profiling. New evidence for sedimentation rates emerged that will
enhance the present geological knowledge of bottom conditions.

In the “Hollows of Euboia,” team members discovered
a cargo of monumental marble blocks scattered over an area of more
than 400 square meters while another intriguing discovery was a cluster
of iron anchors of various date found off Cavo Doro.